We Need to be a Better International Friend

Have you ever had one of those friends who is constantly getting you in trouble? You know, every time you find yourself in a sticky situation, you can’t help but wonder, “How did I end up here?” At some point, you ask yourself why do I keep rolling with this fool? They’re my road dog and all, but I’m standing too close to crazy. Well, that’s precisely what Israel seems to be to America.

Communities across the world, including those caught between Hamas and Israel, face the reality of violent overthrows, where people who resist the powerful and connected routinely disappear or their families endure unspeakable harm. However, we can imagine a world where forces and leadership are strong and organized enough to resist this violence and bring peace and order back. In such a world, people can speak freely, choose who will govern them, worship as they please, educate their children, own property, and enjoy the benefits of their labor. The duty of protecting these values is among our litany of challenges of these times. To achieve this world, we need to recognize that violence is the imposition of a point of view with little or no regard for others. We must also acknowledge that effective non-violent resistance requires the united will of a people.

At the helm of dragging us into a violent hellscape from which there seems to be no escape is President Biden. His lack of sober-minded leadership in his request for over 100 billion dollars does nothing but contribute to the further erosion of any semblance of dignity, pisses on the rule of law, and kicks service to humanity in the teeth. Netanyahu has successfully manipulated Biden and avoided the grassroots protest and calls to reform and/or his removal from power. The lust for violence is palpable, but we must understand this conflict, here and in the Congo, are not one off events, but a slide into a dystopian world.

What: The unwavering support for those whose life philosophy is to usher in an end-times prophecy isn’t helpful. The reality is nowhere in their religious books does it command anyone to help usher in this philosophy but rather to prepare themselves to be able to read the signs. For those of us who don’t subscribe to this worldview, and don’t want our shared social order to be the proverbial dog that catches the bus, we need only live our lives true to the tenets of authenticity, inclusion, and dignity.

When: We need not be Pollyanna, blind, and foolishly optimistic. Of course, the United States has engaged in similar levels of unbridled violence in the past. One need only look back at the 2nd Gulf War with over 7000 US war dead and tens of thousands of civilian casualties succumbed to violence. With these stats, of course, the case can be made that it is the US, not Israel, who set the current climate for eviscerating the rules of law, yes even in war, especially in war.

Where: The normalcy of violence will only guarantee similar atrocities to be heaped upon powerless people worldwide. Here in the US, although not as overtly violent, the systemic suppression of dissent and the erosion of civil liberties create a climate where obedient conformity becomes the norm. To regain your voice even in these overwhelming conditions is to simply use your vote, your voice, and your dollars to usher in a freshman class of reasoned leaders and institutions.

How: We are all witnessing our legislators demonstrating a willful disregard for the dignity of the law through actions like insider trading, voter suppression, corporate influence, facilitating the erosion of individual rights, and of course, blind obedience to mayhem.

Why: These wars serve a dual purpose for leaders like Netanyahu and Putin. It allows them to fulfill their ambitions of cementing their legacies while again, quelling potential uprisings within their populations. The question then becomes, who is left to bring humanity back from the brink? With an understanding that things will likely get worse before getting better, our future lies in shoring up AID, Authentic Democracy, Inclusive Prosperity, and Institutional Dignity for both people and nature.